When they were launched within a couple of weeks of each other, the new Maruti Suzuki Dzire and the new Honda Amaze were expected to give sedans – under pressure from SUVs and hatchbacks – a shot in the arm. But six months later, while there is a lot to Dzire, there is little to Amaze.
Data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) shows that the Dzire, launched on November 11, 2024, has sold 97,190 units, but the Amaze, launched on December 4, 2024, has managed to sell only 18,162 units.The Dzire, in fact, has been going from strength to strength – it sold 16,573 units in December 2024, 15,383 units (January 2025), 14,694 units (February), 15,460 units (March), 16,996 units (April), and in May it became India’s largest selling car, having sold 18,084 units.
Sales of the Amaze also started well – 3,708 units in December 2024 – but have been tapering ever since. It sold 3,591 units in January 2025, 3,263 units (February), 3,583 units (March), 2,019 units (April), and just 1,998 units in May.The Dzire’s monthly run rate has been 16,198 units, and the Amaze’s has been just 3,027 units.
Automotive analysts FE talked to said that many things have worked for the Dzire. “Maruti Suzuki has a vast sales and service network (more than 3,500 outlets), and that ensures the Dzire is available just about anywhere in the country – to a wider audience. Even though Honda also has a few hundred dealerships – and at places where majority buyers are – its reach isn’t as wide,” an analyst said. “In addition, the Dzire comes with a factory-fitted CNG variant, but the Amaze gets retrofitted CNG kits through Honda dealerships.
The Amaze CNG was launched almost two months after the petrol model, and that means it’s been just four months of Amaze CNG sales.”He added that the Amaze is targeted towards a more premium buyer. “The Amaze comes with the ultra-smooth CVT (continuously variable transmission) automatic gearbox, which is almost a lakh rupee pricier than manual variants. The Dzire gets the AMT (automated manual transmission) gearbox, which isn’t as smooth as the CVT, but is far more affordable – about Rs 50,000 more than manual variants,” he said. “In a highly price-sensitive market like India, this is a huge advantage.”
A lot of sales of the Dzire come from the fleet segment, but the Amaze is purely a personal, family car. At the launch, former Honda Cars India president & CEO Takuya Tsumura had said that while other compact sedans cater to the commercial taxi requirements in a big way, the Amaze enjoys the preferred personal car status among its buyers.
The Amaze, even in its lower variants, is priced higher than the Dzire, and with the latest generation’s focus on premium features like ADAS, it further solidifies its position as a personal car with aspirational features, instead of a budget car.Going forward, the Dzire is expected to continue its top-selling run, while the Amaze is expected to settle down at a monthly run rate of about 2,500 units – the same as it was before the launch of the new model in December.
